I ought to be settling down now with my new fish after 3 months, and in fact they're all doing very nicely in general. I am however keeping an eye on my blue dwarf gourami's change in behaviour. I've been reading around elsewhere before posting here, to try and get an idea of whether he is actually sick or has a deformity.
I first noticed a change several weeks back; he used to be the dominant fish out of the two gouramis that I have. But now, the powder-blue male is the boss and the striped male is the under-dog. I can only put this down to the idea that Mr Stripey is in fact exhibiting signs of unwellness and the other one is sensing it.
The gourami's shape seems to have altered, it's difficult to describe, but he seems to have a wave in his posture, rather like a very open "s" shape...if you look at him head-on, his right side curves out a bit and the left side is slightly concave; then, around the midway point, the left side curves out slightly and the right side is relatively flat. If comparing to the power-blue gourami, the latter looks pretty symmetrical and flat on both sides.
The striped gourami is hiding out in the plants at the rear of the tank; he is eating tetra flake and does pick food at the substrate. His resting position is peculiar, sometimes appearing normal and then head-up at around sixty degrees with his feelers held out in front (rather like a dalek). Doesnt seem unbalanced in the act of swimming.
All other fish are fine; water is Ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 5-10. I read about gourami virus but am not sure of all the symptoms, so am posting this not as an emergency as such, but for any thoughts.
I first noticed a change several weeks back; he used to be the dominant fish out of the two gouramis that I have. But now, the powder-blue male is the boss and the striped male is the under-dog. I can only put this down to the idea that Mr Stripey is in fact exhibiting signs of unwellness and the other one is sensing it.
The gourami's shape seems to have altered, it's difficult to describe, but he seems to have a wave in his posture, rather like a very open "s" shape...if you look at him head-on, his right side curves out a bit and the left side is slightly concave; then, around the midway point, the left side curves out slightly and the right side is relatively flat. If comparing to the power-blue gourami, the latter looks pretty symmetrical and flat on both sides.
The striped gourami is hiding out in the plants at the rear of the tank; he is eating tetra flake and does pick food at the substrate. His resting position is peculiar, sometimes appearing normal and then head-up at around sixty degrees with his feelers held out in front (rather like a dalek). Doesnt seem unbalanced in the act of swimming.
All other fish are fine; water is Ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 5-10. I read about gourami virus but am not sure of all the symptoms, so am posting this not as an emergency as such, but for any thoughts.